Ortigas Center packs offices, malls and condominiums into a small area connected by covered walkways. For a week, I worked from a different spot each day.
The walkways make it possible to get around without a car, though the routes between them are not always obvious. A paper map from the mall concierge helped more than my phone.
Eating well, cheaply
Food courts in the older buildings have the best value: full meals for under ₱200, and a carinderia behind one tower that sells out of adobo by one.
Where to work
The co-working spaces in the newer towers are bright and quiet, with day passes that cost about as much as a nice lunch. The cafés inside the malls work well before eleven and after two; at lunch they are full of meetings.
The library in one of the older buildings offers free desks to anyone with an ID, and its air-conditioning is stronger than any café’s.
Wednesday and Thursday were the best days: Monday felt rushed and Friday emptied out by four, as everyone left early to beat the weekend traffic.
Getting there
The MRT stops at Ortigas and Shaw Boulevard, and both are a short walk from the centre through covered walkways. Buses on EDSA are frequent but slow at peak hours. If you drive, the mall car parks are the most reliable, though not the cheapest.
Plan your arrival for before eight or after ten. The hour in between is the busiest of the day, and the walkways fill with office workers moving from the trains to the towers.
By the end of the week I knew which elevator banks were quickest and which coffee counters had the shortest queues. That is when a district starts to feel like home.
By Friday, Ortigas felt less like a business district and more like a small town with very tall buildings.
